Purse.



No. 860,718. PATENTED JULY 23, 1907. E. J. WILKINS. PURSE.

APPLICATION FILED 00117, 1906.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELBERT .T. WILKINS, OF GLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO E. J. WILKINS COMPANY, OF GLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK.

PURSE.

Patented July 23,1907.

Application filed October 17, 1906. Serial No. 339,301-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELBERT .l. WrLKiNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gloversville, in the county of Fulton and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Purses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make, construct, and use the same.

My invention relates to an improved purse, and the object of my invention is to provide a purse for specie or bills, which may be securely locked and readily opened to display the contents and make them more easily accessible than has been the case heretofore. This I accomplish by providing a central pouch or bag to facilitate the ingress or egress of the coin.

A further object of my invention is to secure to the flexible material attached to the frame. near the free ends of the same, a stiffening piece as for instance, an inlay or insert secured in any suitable manner to the flexible material constituting the body of the purse and primarily designed to afford a convenient means to facilitate the opening and closing of the purse, at the same time stiffening or reinforcing the upper edges of the purse nearest the free ends of the frame, which are constantly manipulated in order to open and close the same, in order that such edges will not become distorted orpresent an unsightly appearance.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a front view of my improved purse closed. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 represents a plan view of my improved purse open, and Fig. 4 represents a side elevation partly in section of the same. Fig. 5 is a cross=section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

In carrying out my invention, I provide the members a and b hinged together at c as illustrated in the several drawings. The hinged members a and b are preferably L-shaped in cross-section as clearly illus trated in Fig. 4, but any convenient commercial frame, can be used instead of the L-shaped or overlapping frame shown. Secured to the frame members a and b, in any convenient manner, as for example, by riveting thereto, is the purse body (1 made of flexible leather or other suitable fabric, the edges of said purse body conforming to the inner configuration of the frame mem' bers a and b. In order to properly secure the edges of said body (I to the members a and b, I make use of the inlay members 6 as illustrated clearly in Fig. 3, the

edge of the body (1 being located between the inturned flanges of the members a and b and said inlay members 6, with the rivets f passing through the inturned flanges,

the margin or edge of the body (Z and said inlay members 0 as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

In order to form the receptacle for coins in one portion of the purse, I provide the additional piece of leather or other fabric g conforming to the shape of substantially one half of the purse, and extending across one of the frame-members, the edges of said piece of material 9 being inserted between the inlay members 6 and the frame a, and if desired, a still further pocket may be provided by the use of an additional piece of material it somewhat larger and more baggy than the member 9 securing the edge of the same between the inlay member and the member 9, so as to form a receptacle of convenient size for folded bills. In order to form a closure for the pocket formed by the member h, the member 9 may be extended sufficient to form a flap t' to fold over the edge of the pocket h and be secured to the face of the same in any convenient manner as by means of the clasp k. v

The body d as illustratedin Fig. 4, is made to bag or belly downward when the purse is opened as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4, so that the coins inserted in the purse may slide from the pocket formed between the left hand portion of the body d and the rear of the member g, so that when the purse is opened as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, and the purse tilted slightly, the coins will slide from the receptacle into the open or exposed portion d which forms a till from which the coins may be exposed and readily removed by the fingers.

In the use of purses of this character, the overlapping folds d of the body (1 nearest the top are used as a convenient means for spreading the two parts of the purse apart. Unless such edges are properly stiffened, they become, in a short time, so Worn and flimsy as to present a very unsightly appearance, and to prevent this, I provide the stiffeningpieces m, which conform to the outer edges of the purse asillustrated. I have QIOWII these stiffening pieces m as filling the projecting marginal portions of each end of the bodyd and extended a short distance towards the hinges c. If desired, however, these stiffening pieces m may extend considerably further towards the hinges than is shown and even as far as the inturned end portions of the inlay member 6. These stiffening members in may be made of metal or heavy leather as desired, and may be secured in po sition by cementing the same to the fold of the body 01, or as is usually the custom in purses of this character,

the pieces in are inserted between the exterior body a and a lining (not shown), said lining being ordinarily cemented to the interior of the body d. Any other convenient method for securing these stiffening members m in position will answer the purpose. In use, coins are placed in the open till d and their weight will cause the body 11 to bulge or bag downwardly as illustrated in Fig. 4, when by tilting the purse slightly, the coins will slide into the rear pocket behind the partition 9 when the purse can be closed and said coins securely locked in their pocket. The peculiar shape of the body d lends itself to the easy sliding of the coins from the rear pocket outwardly into the till d upon the tilting of the purse in the opposite direction. If de sired, the outer pocket formed by the member h may be also used for a coin receptacle and upon disconnecting the clasp 7c and folding the flap 11 over into the till d, coins from the outer pocket may be caused to slide out upon the over-turned flap 'i for exposure in the same manner as heretofore described.

I have shown the frames a and b as overlapping and the frame b closes inside the frame a as illustrated in Fig. 2. If desired, the end of the frame 'may be provided with a fastening device, as a projection n upon the frame member I) and a slight indentation 0 upon the interior of the frame member a, the projection snapping into the indentation 0. The fastening means, however, should not be of such a character as to require excessive strain upon the ends of the frame or upon the stiffening pieces or members m. The body (1 is so constructed that when the purse is opened as illustrated in Fig. 3 and 4, the body will be caused to bag throughout its length as shown, otherwise, a fold would be formed adjacent the hinge c which would interfere With the easy sliding of the coin from the rear pocket into the till '01. It will thus be seen that with the purse closed in the manner illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, that the coins or bills in the several pockets of the purse are securely locked in position and that the objects of my invention are fully attained.

I claim:

1. A purse comprising a .two-part hinged frame, a body of flexible material secured at its margin to and overlap ping the members of said frame, a partition within said purse forming with said body a pocket opening toward the center of the purse and stiffening members secured to the interior of said body within the overlapping margins thereof. r a

2. A purse comprising a pair of hinged frame members, a body of flexible material secured at its margin to said frame members, said body extending outwardly and overlapping said frame members when closed and sagging downwardly at its middle when open, and stiffening members secured within the overlapping parts of said body.

I A purse comprising a pair of hinged frame members, a body of flexible material secured at its margin to said frame members, said body being made of such length'as to overlap the ends of the frame members when closed and sag downwardly at the center when open, and stiffening members secured within the overlapping parts of said body.

4. A purse comprising a pair of hinged frame members, a body of flexible material secured at its margin to said frame members, said body extending outwardly and overlapping said frame members and a stiffening piece conforming to the shape of and secured to the interior of the overlapping portion of said body 5. A purse comprising of a pair of hinged frame mem bers, a body composed of flexible material secured at its margin to said frame members, an inlay piece riveted to each of said frame members and overlapping the margin of said body, said body being of such length as to overlap said frame members and sag downwardly to form easy in clines from either end of the purse when open, and stiffem ing pieces secured within the overlapping parts of the body.

(5. A purse comprising a pair of hinged members, a body composed of flexible material, a pair of inlay members, the edge of said body being inserted between said hinged members and said inlay members and the parts riveted t0- gethcr, with said body overlapping said hinged members a partition across one of said frame members forming with said body a pocket for the reception of coins and a stilfening piece conforming to the shape of the purse and secured within the overlapping fold of said body near its outer edge.

7. A purse comprisinga pair of hinged members, each having an inturned flange, a body of flexible material having its edge secured to said inturned flanges, said body having a fold which projects laterally and overlaps said frame members and a stiffening piece secured within each end of said body in said overlapping fold.

S. A purse comprising a pair of hinged members, each having an inturned flange, a body of flexible material, a partition and a pair of inlay members, the margin of said body being inserted between said inturned flanges and said inlay members and the margin of said partition being inserted between the flange of one frame member and the corresponding inlay member and the parts riveted together, said body being of such length that it overlaps the ends of said frame and bulges downwardly to form inclines from its ends to its middle when the purse is opened, and stiffening pieces secured to the interior of the overlapping ends of the body.

9. A purse comprising a pair of hinged frame members, fastening means secured to said frame members for securely locking them in position, a body of flexible material secured at its margin to said frame members, said body being made of such length as to overlap the ends of the frame members when closed and sag downwardly at the center when open and stiffening pieces secured to the in terior of said overlapping ends of the body.

This specification signed and witnessed this 12th day of October 1906.

ELBER'J. T. WILKINS.

Witnesses WILLIAM A. MACDONALD, JEREMIAH Woof). 

